Work

The hours that I've been working lately have been completely destroying my concept of time. Switching back to back is something that I've always wanted to do, but my mind needs time to catch up.

In Praise of My Bed

Meredith Holmes

At last I can be with you!
The grinding hours
since I left your side!
The labor of being fully human,
working my opposable thumb,
talking, and walking upright.
Now I have unclasped
unzipped, stepped out of.
Husked, soft, a be-er only,
I do nothing, but point
my bare feet into your
clean smoothness
feel your quiet strength
the whole length of my body.
I close my eyes, hear myself
moan, so grateful to be held this way.

In Paris with You

James Fenton

Don't talk to me of love. I've had an earful
And I get tearful when I've downed a drink or two.
I'm one of your talking wounded.
I'm a hostage. I'm marooned.
But I'm in Paris with you.

Yes I'm angry at the way I've been bamboozled
And resentful at the mess I've been through.
I admit I'm on the rebound
And I don't care where are we bound.
I'm in Paris with you.

      Do you mind if we do not go to the Louvre,
      If we say sod off to the sodding Notre Dame,
      If we skip the Champs Elysées
      And remain here in this sleazy
      Old hotel room
      Doing this and that
      To what and whom
      Learning who you are,
      Learning what I am.

Don't talk to me of love. Let's talk of Paris,
The little bit of Paris in our view.
There's that crack across the ceiling

And the hotel walls are peeling
And I'm in Paris with you.

Don't talk to me of love. Let's talk of Paris.
I'm in Paris with the slightest thing you do.
I'm in Paris with your eyes, your mouth,
I'm in Paris with . . . all points south.
Am I embarrassing you?
I'm in Paris with you.

To Done

Today I:

paid some bills
did laundry
bought groceries
baked cookies
cleaned Truck

and I've yet to go to work. Not a bad day. Perhaps even a good day, depending on work.

Safety First

I'm glad that no part of my new year's resolutions were about cutting swearing out of my life. Above you can see a triptych of the layers of clothing that my injury tonight pierced. First is the Carharts, then Dickies work pants, followed my my long underwear. Yes, that is blood on the Dickies and long underwear.

I would include a picture of the wound itself, but this is a family blog. For the same reason I will not be posting the list of terrible terrible things that I said in the moments that followed. However, below is a picture of the dressed wound with a sub-wound closer to my knee. (That is part of the same incident) Also, I can tell you one word that did not escape my lips with regard to this horrible horrible event: poopy.



Tomorrow I'll see if it shows any sign of getting better. It might actually require professional care. Jimmy agrees.

[update] After a night of not being able to sleep in any position that was comfortable, the aching of the wound has subsided. My leg is still rather stiff, but I should be able to work in my (nearly) fullest capacity. This wound is not pretty though. [/update]

My reward for acting like an adult

I've had a full night's sleep. I woke up and took a shower and then cooked food. Afterward I threw in some laundry and took a nap. I awake to find that I've had a dream. My mind must love me because I've been without dreams for a while.

I dreampt that I was eating at Dairy Queen with Rachel and her dad. She was ripping on my hardcore and he wasn't really defending me, but was providing logical escape routes for me to take. The dream reached critical mass when she said, "if you want to prove something, then why don't you quit smoking?" I retorted with, "December 18th. Why do I have to prove myself to anyone?!" After that we got up to pay for the meal. I recall that the ice cream cake was very very good.

It was a very packed dream. Everything, every detail I remember reminds me of something else that seems connected. Examples: The DQ was laid out like BK by Borders. The cake was just like the Pecan pie Lynn's mom at The Gables made.

Before I go, I should explain a little. I am happy that I had a dream. I think that dreams are a sign of sleeping long enough and that they are the mind's way of processing events since the last good sleep. That there were so many symbols and people in my dream only really indicate how far and wide my mind goes in the 5 days that include New Year's Day. As far as "What does it mean?" goes, I think this dream either means nothing or it means something that I can't grasp. Either way, the only sensible thing to do is eat at Dairy Queen.

Unhealthy

It has come to my attention that I have slept for 5 hours per night on average this year. Also, I've been averaging nearly a meal a day and more than half of my daily caloric intake has been beer.

It seems that this is some very unhealthy behavior. However, I feel okay. Granted that all of the days of this year feel like a blur and I'm not very certain what today is... I still think I'm doing pretty well for myself.

My new work schedule isn't really going to help with any of those things except for the beer intake. I suppose that's a good thing. At least I could say that it's a step in the right direction.

Who am I kidding? I know the actual reason for these behaviors.

Magnetic Poetry: Pickup Lines

These should keep me single for a while:

I know you believe in
astronaut pants

if I told you I love you
would you come

whipped cream
Any questions

can I have
tequila

hey
can you talk

one word
money

I'm sorry can I have directions to
a sexy organ donor like you

didn't I see a braille
wedding cake

I lost an airport
nearby

I'm
married

Yay for sales at B&N

"Doctor, doctor, I think I need glasses."
"You certainly do. This is not a hospital; it's a Burger King."

What did the computer say when the little lamb logged on?
"Ewe got mail."

What's the difference between a computer programmer and a duck farmer?
One downloads and the other loads down.

How many substitute teachers does it take to change a lightbulb?
None--they just leave it dark and show a movie.

Why is Alabama the smartest state in the Union?
Because it has four A's and one B.

Last one:

Is the left life raft the right life raft or is the right life raft the right life raft?

BONUS!!:

The little yodeler learned to yodel loudly

The longest year

If you're out with friends past midnight, then the new day does not actually start until you've gone to bed and woken up. This sleep/unconsciousness doesn't have to be full or restful, but until you get it the day hasn't ended.

With that in mind, I was able to tack on an extra 30 hours to 2008. Wednesday morning I woke up at 10am and did not go to sleep until 6am Friday morning. Then I slept for 4 hours and began my day. I call it the 44 and 4 plan. Stay up 44 hours and sleep 4.

Highlights:
I saw Jenny and made friends at her party.
I caught up with Tessa about the last 5/12 ths of 2008.
I gave and received some very nice back rubs (Thanks Kate and Allie)
I played Burnout Domination for 5 hours in front of a cheering audience.
I learned how to play catch with a deck of cards.
I played LOTS of Catch Phrase.

Jaccob: "You're the ____!"
Me: "The unbearable lightness of being?!"

I invented the Pancake Ball.
I hung out with Ethan, who needs to hang out with the FedEx Crew more often.


Bottom line, I had a whole lot of fun. I can't think of a better way to ring in the new year than to have 2008 go out in that fashion.

2008

I'll be glad to put it behind me.

Hugs

Hugs are one of the best things ever. Today I got 2 hugs. Today is a good day, hug-wise. Hugs are interesting because there are so many ways to hug. Arms over, arms under? One up, one down? Shoulders only? Side hug? Pickup hug?

Anyway, thanks for the hugs today. Really, thank you.

Old Things

Old things and memories make me happy. Below are 3 things I wrote a long time ago. They make me happy. The above picture is really old. It makes me happy, too. Memories are something that can never be taken away from you. For better or for worse I will always have been where I have been and I will always have done the things I have done. Even if, like Job of the Bible, I have it all stripped away, the fact that I used to have it can never be taken away.

Small comforts? Perhaps, but every little bit helps.

A Real Conversation

rachel (11:03:05 PM): do you like your car pics?
rachel (11:03:09 PM): they’re almost porongraphic
me (11:03:12 PM): lol
me (11:03:18 PM): poron?
rachel (11:03:31 PM): yes
rachel (11:03:41 PM): a new genre

A Poem About the Wind

Today I went out
out into the cold
cold wind hit my cheeks
cheeks nineteen years old
old cold wind feels good.

A Poem

I made you cold;
I make you colder.
I put my arm around your shoulder.
I reach out.
I know it’s sin,
to play your vocal chords again.

Baby Got Bark

I like big trees and I can not lie
You other loggers can't deny
That when a tree falls down with an itty bitty sound
And bark thrown in your face
You get sprung, wanna pull out your chain saw
'Cause you notice that tree was felled in order to be turned into toothpicks
Deep in the south where they like toothpicks (I guess)
I'm hooked and I can't stop sawing
Oh baby, I wanna chop you down with an axe
And take your picture
My homeboys tried to warn me
But that bark you got makes me so much money
Ooh, Old-Growth-Tree
You say you wanna get in my logging truck?
Well, use me, use me
'Cause you ain't that average group of trees
I've seen them dancin' in the wind
To hell with huggin'
She's sweat, wet,
Got it goin' like a turbo logging truck
I'm tired of magazines
Sayin' short trees are the thing
Take the average logger and ask him that
She gotta pack much bark
So, loggas! (Yeah!) loggas! (Yeah!)
Has your Old Growth Tree got the bark? (Hell yeah!)
Tell 'em to saw it down! (Saw it down!) Saw it down! (Saw it down!)
Saw that healthy bark!
Baby got bark!



Seriously though, Big Trees are cool.

Mitchell?

This is my new friend Mitchell. He's on drugs. Don't ask about it.

Geckos

I like geckos. I'm getting one. He'll be my Christmas present to myself. This is something that I do every year. More to come. I promise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gecko

You

You, yes you. You're grounded.